Stabilization of the swelling soil for earth construction
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1
Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
2
G&W Science and Engineering, Cairo, Egypt
3
Faculty of Engineering, Shoubra - Banha University, Cairo, Egypt
Publication date: 2020-09-02
Cement Wapno Beton 25(3) 198–207 (2020)
ABSTRACT
This study is concerned with the method of cast earth as part of an
investigation series on earth construction. The effect of two clay
swelling inhibitors; polyethylene glycol [PEG] and of carboxymethyl
cellulose [CMC] on the swelling of a clay-bearing soil are studied
to enable the stabilization of the soil with CEM I 42.5 N. The soil
composed of 14% clay, quartz, and calcite, is stabilized with 10%
cement. 3% polycarboxylate superplasticizer is added relative
to the mass of the cement, to gain the soil pourable properties.
The results show that the PEG and CMC clay-swelling inhibitors
reduce the expansion of the soil by ~30 and ~40% and lead to
a maximum increase of 24 and 46% in the 90-day compressive
strength respectively. The interactions between clay, cement, and
swelling inhibitors are discussed. The findings allow advantageous
applications for producing building units for construction purposes
in desert areas.